President Trump said last week that there could end up being tariffs on alcoholic beverages imported into the United States.
It's estimated that the tariff could be as high as 200%, and that might mean greatly reduced sales on imported liquor, especially wines, champagnes and beers, but it could also be a boon to some widely overlooked brands that are made in the USA.
Derek Simms, the president of the Simms Hospitality Group in Dallas, says the number and quality of Texas brands of wine, beer and spirits has exploded over the past decade, and should the president slap tariffs on imported liquor it'll be painful for people used to ordering their favorite brand of French wine, Champagne or British beer, it would finally give many people a chance to sample the products made close to home.
French wines would likely go up based on the amount of the tariff -- so a 200% tariff would result in a 200% increase in the cost of such wine.
"But there are alternatives to these deals -- they're American alternatives," he points out.
"There are a lot of American brands that would succeed off this," Simms says, "it's just how you look at it."
So it's simple: If import tariffs hand you a lemon, make lemonade hard seltzer.